James nearly bumped into Daniel when he stopped on his way into Mama’s ultimate domain, following his gaze to the far kitchen wall. The damned needlepoint had hung on the wall there for as long as he could remember, and he hadn’t thought of it until this moment. He’d have thought she would have taken it down, but no… Daniel slowly turned around, a little paler under the makeup. Reaching slowly into his pocketbook, he pressed a twenty-dollar bill into James’s hand. This was one bet James wasn’t so happy to win.
Chapter Four
Holy freaking hell, what have I just walked into? Daniel thought as he stared, unable to pull his eyes away from the wall. This was like an episode of The Twilight Zone and Daniel had been dumped in some alternate universe. “Mama’s Ten Commandments.” Jesus Christ. His mind skipped a beat and Daniel found himself completely mesmerized and horrified by the sight in front of him.
“Daniella,” Grace said gently as she moved through the kitchen. “Coffee or tea?” Slowly the world came back into focus and he remembered why he was here and what he was supposed to be doing, and it wasn’t being shocked out of his gourd. Get it together. It’s just for a few days.
“I’m sorry.” James whispered from behind him, then moved past him to pull out a chair at the table. She couldn’t be serious.
“Daniella,” Grace prompted again, and he shook his head slightly to bring himself back from la-la land. “Coffee or tea? Juice?”
“Tea would be lovely,” Daniel managed and turned as James sat down, cocking his eyebrows. The sampler had obviously been done some time ago; the fabric behind the stitches had yellowed with age. James’s mother very clearly had expectations, and she wasn’t at all shy about them. There they were for the entire world to see.
Daniel accepted the cup of tea and tried not to stare, but it was difficult as his mind processed the visual. Some made perfect sense, in a way: “Thou shall work hard, Thou shall call thy mother, Thou shall not fight with thy brothers and sisters, Thou shall finish school…and college.” The college part was in a slightly different color, so it had probably been added later. A couple actually had him smirking, but he managed to aim it in James’s direction, especially “Thou shall keep it under lock and key until marriage,” and “Thou shall go to church.” Daniel sipped the Earl Grey, giving the sampler a final review. “Thou shall not lie to thy mother and father…” Well, that one was already out the window. “Thou shall not embarrass the family.” Okay, they were well on their way down the road to hell there. The last ones bordered on frightening. “Thou shall get married, Thou shall give thy parents grandchildren.” He turned away to stop looking at the thing, his gaze settling on James.
“Sorry,” James mouthed once more, and Daniel shrugged. He was here, and he had to make the best of it.
Daniel finished his tea and thanked Grace, who whisked the cup away. “Maybe we should bring in our luggage and get settled?” he prompted, figuring if he and James had something to do, then they could avoid round two of Grace’s upcoming interrogation, at least for now.
“James, I have you in your old room, of course, and I figured Daniella could share with Margot.” She wiped the table of nonexistent spills as a groan went up from the living room. Daniel expected that this development had been discussed with James’s younger sister and was not popular on that front either. Daniel glanced at James, who had paled considerably as he stared alternately at his mother and then at him.
“Please excuse me a minute,” Daniel said. “James, could you tell me where the bathroom is?” His throat constricted slightly as panic welled up inside.
“Of course,” James said, practically jumping to his feet and motioning Daniel to go first. “It’s just down the hall here to the left.” Thankfully James took the hint and followed him.
“Could you be a sweetie and bring my makeup case in from the car for me?” He was trying to think quickly because this was going downhill fast.
“Be right back.” James hurried away, filled with tension. Daniel entered the bathroom and left the door cracked, running some cool water and dampening a cloth to cool the back of his neck, trying to calm his racing heart and hopefully clear his head so he could think.
“Honey,” James said from outside and then stepped in, closing the door.
“What are we going to do? I can’t share a room with your sister. Yes, I can be convincing as Daniella, but I can’t stay in makeup constantly for six days, and I have to sleep, and…” He took a deep breath.